Gnosca

Gnosca
Former municipality of Switzerland
Coat of arms
Gnosca Show map of Switzerland Gnosca Show map of Canton of Ticino
Location of Gnosca
Coordinates: 46°14′N 9°01′E / 46.233°N 9.017°E / 46.233; 9.017Coordinates: 46°14′N 9°01′E / 46.233°N 9.017°E / 46.233; 9.017
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Ticino
District	Bellinzona
Government
• Mayor	Sindaco
Area
• Total	7.5 km2 (2.9 sq mi)
Elevation	277 m (909 ft)
Population (December 2004)
• Total	524
• Density	70/km2 (180/sq mi)
Postal code	6525
SFOS number	5006
Surrounded by	Arbedo-Castione, Claro, Gorduno, Preonzo
Website	www.gnosca.ch SFSO statistics

Gnosca is a former municipality in the district of Bellinzona in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.

On 2 April 2017 the former municipalities of Camorino, Claro, Giubiasco, Gorduno, Gudo, Moleno, Monte Carasso, Pianezzo, Preonzo, Sant'Antonio and Sementina merged into the municipality of Bellinzona.

Gnosca is first mentioned in 1198 as Niosca in the records of Como and the cathedral of Milan. While it is likely that there were earlier settlements, nothing is known about them. An arbitration document of 1202 granted the S. Giovanni church and the church of SS Maurizio e Carpoforo in Gnosca Castle to Como. The parish church of St. Peter Martyr is on a list of churches in the diocese of Milan in the 13th Century. In 1335 Gnosca is mentioned as a village in the county of Bellinzona, although part of the population was assumed for some time by the cathedral of Milan. This led to a situation where the church was used for both the Ambrosian and Roman Rites at the same time. The village is now on the edge of the agglomeration of Bellinzona. With the construction of many new homes it has lost, in recent decades, its rural character.

Gnosca has an area, as of 1997^[update], of 7.45 square kilometers (2.88 sq mi). Of this area, 0.89 km² (0.34 sq mi) or 11.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 5.76 km² (2.22 sq mi) or 77.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.42 km² (0.16 sq mi) or 5.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.14 km² (35 acres) or 1.9% is either rivers or lakes and 0.23 km² (0.089 sq mi) or 3.1% is unproductive land.